Modern Motorcycles... and Technology

Sadlsor

Sadlsor

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Birmingham, Alabama
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2008 ST1300A
A good editorial piece by Nick Adams about the inexorable and sad onslaught of "safety" features and electronics on today's bikes. Reminds me of @Uncle Phil and myself, along with a few others here. Yeah, it's been discussed ad nauseum but it's well-written, he prefers older Moto Guzzis, and he mentions a podcast he was on (Adventure Rider Radio podcast with Jim Martin) that I already listened to.

Why Worry
 
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Some modern stuff I'm ok with, some I don't even realize I have, some I tolerate and some I don't want at all, but then again, I'm 74, been riding on the street for 59 years and change comes hard for me. Heck, I still use paper maps for planning trips,

At this stage in my life I really appreciate electric starting, electronic ignitions, disc brakes, heated grips and the DCT trans on my NC. Couldn't even tell you if my bike has ABS or not (I just assume it does since they all do don't they?). It doesn't have cruise although I wish it did (but not that radar cruise stuff). Wouldn't mind an adjustable windshield (manual or electric) but I'm ok with the two fixed shields I use, a cut down one for summer (btw I actually LIKE feeling the wind) and taller one in winter (4 screws, takes about 5 mins to change twice a year). I like that today's chains, tires, headlight bulbs and motor oil last longer than in the old days, and that you can actually ride 100,000 miles without tearing into the motors/transmissions.

Overall, I'm ok with the "basic" motorcycle I have now. Suits me just right. I'm a happy motorcyclist.

This does remind me of a quote from my little brother (he'll be 72 next month) when we were talking about motorcycles with riding modes (btw mine has 4 but I only ever use 1 of them) and he said "I don't need no dang computer to tell me to slow down in the rain".
 
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I'm with the Ferret; there's good and there's too far/much. Thankfully, we can still pick and choose what to add or use and what not to. The problem will be when it becomes mandatory. There are a few mandatory measures that I am good with, e.g., seatbelts. But too much intrusion is the even expansion of the nanny state.
 
I like tech.. but I'm an IT guy so makes sense.

I love the RT but I could do without the Adaptive Cruise Control. I rarely ever used CC even on the Wing/Super Ten/Tracer.. I just never used it much.. The Adaptive CC does work well but I'd prefer to have paid less to drop that feature.

All the other tech I'm all for... keyless ride - love it.. I know some have issues with that but those are mostly due to riding GSs in dusty areas and not cleaning that part... you do have to understand how things work and know how to maintain them.

I remember sliding my Valk through a stop sign due to 100 degree temps on a smooth TX street... no abs or linked brakes... 25mpg if you're lucky, no thanks... It was a great bike but I prefer function over anything else so the RT is perfect for me... even the ST1300 was far better in just about every way.... again, for me..
 
I'm pretty much a Luddite that would love to be plopped down in 1982 again. With that said, I do enjoy ABS, cruise control, electronic suspension, an adjustable screen and heated grips. I think that is why I like my FJR so much. It has everything I enjoy and nothing I don't want. It is a good mix of new and old.

I would like to add a naked bike to the stable. I like the new/old tech of the BMW R 12. I've owned that motor it two bikes and I love the character. However, they are very proud of the new ones so I don't know. Maybe an older R1200R or something.

Maybe I need to go for a ride and stop thinking :biggrin:
Mike
 
Nicest thing I can say about the safety features on my 2015 Concours is that most are really easy to ignore and forget about.... until the things kick in. Then it becomes " Oh I know what that was".
On the ST when I needed something that wasn't there. Gee ease up on the brakes or ease off the throttle a bit.
 
Bug Dr. said:
I'm pretty much a Luddite that would love to be plopped down in 1982 again. With that said, I do enjoy ABS, cruise control, electronic suspension, an adjustable screen and heated grips. I think that is why I like my FJR so much. It has everything I enjoy and nothing I don't want. It is a good mix of new and old.

I would like to add a naked bike to the stable. I like the new/old tech of the BMW R 12. I've owned that motor it two bikes and I love the character. However, they are very proud of the new ones so I don't know. Maybe an older R1200R or something.

Maybe I need to go for a ride and stop thinking :biggrin:
Mike
Click to expand...
How about one of the Royal Enfields?
 
My issue with the tech, is it fails. And its ridiculously expensive to repair, if you can get the parts. I manage a small fleet of vehicles. There isn't a day that goes by that one doesn't have some issue. 90% of the time its a module, or emissions do-dad. Recently its the touchscreen controls that everything now relies on. We have a 2024 that will randomly turn on exterior lights, roll its windows down, or start honking the horn. At 3am. With no "key" in it and the doors locked. The gadgets are great, and the comfort fantastic. But at what cost? Unbelievable complexity that would make the Space Shuttle blush. So yeah, the fear that it might fail is real. I don't want to be way, way far from civilization with anything "new".
 
I'm a cross between @Bug Dr. and @Mellow. I worked IT at Boeing for 10 years, so tech doesn't bother me...but I'm a Luddite too. I just want it to work.

My F800GT was a good compromise. It had a simple ABS and traction control system. I only activated the traction control once when I pulled out onto a road and crossed a strip of sand left over from the snow in the months before. The engine just died giving me a momentary moment of panic as I wondered what just broke...then when the rear wheel had traction again, all was well. "Oh! So that was the traction control. Neat!" There was an electronic suspension adjustment, but it again was rudimentary. It had a Comfort, Normal and Sport setting to it and only affected the rear shock. And it had heated grips. Otherwise, it was a "normal" motorcycle and relied on you having the skill set to keep from crashing. I like that.

But you now have little choice about tech if you want to buy a bike that was made in the last five years. My XR has the IMU and will adjust the suspension something like a thousand times a second. The ABS and traction control take into account your lean angle and the G-forces the bike is encountering. The cruise control has been very handy...for keeping the bike going slow enough to avoid getting performance awards. And the heated grips get too hot...but I can still turn them down. ;) Oh...and it'll talk to my phone and even give me GPS directions if I'll just turn on the location so it knows where I'm going all the time...even if I'm at home sleeping. I don't use that.


The danger to me of the tech, is it can be distracting. The bike is gathering all this information constantly, and you can flip through the screens to pull up info. It'll tell me my speed and rpms. It'll tell me things like my fuel level. All good and necessary. But it'll also tell me things like my coolant temperature. How long I've been riding. My voltage output. My average MPG and how much further I can go on this tankful. Okay...useful. But then there's things like the screen that'll tell me how much force I've applied to my brakes and my dynamic traction control. (I really don't want to know the bike's computer was what kept me from crashing.) And it'll tell me my lean angle...which is what led to my crash last June. Information that really wasn't necessary, wasn't looked at enough to know where to find it, was a distraction...and I allowed myself to let it distract me.

The tech can be good...but you need to control it.

By the way, if you think you'll never buy a bike with a chain...I guess you won't be buying a newish bike either. Only a scant few bikes come with a shaft drive now.

Chris
 
I don't mind the tech....for the most part. What I do not like is that, if it fails, it renders the bike unrideable. At the very least, there should be some kind of work around/limp mode. Case in point; my friends ring antennae suddenly failed on his RT. The bike just quit. Luckily he was able to coast to a relatively safe spot on the side of the road; Flat bed tow X 2 (failed on the weekend so had to tow it to my place and then to the shop), 3 weeks in the shop (part was back ordered), $1,000 later and he was back on the road. There is no workaround when that part fails. As we were waiting for the tow truck, I was looking at the key to my ST and thinking......as long as I don't break it off in the ignition.......!

And yes, I do realize there are things on the ST that, if fail, will also disable the bike but at least there are fewer of them.
 
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You know, I'm old enough to remember my dad sitting around with friends talking about this new seat belt law and how dangerous it was. My uncle talked about the risk of running off a bridge, plunging into the water, and then drowning because they could not get their seat belt disconnected. He was totally serious about this. Another person then chimed in that it was better to be "thrown clear" in an accident. I guess in a serious collision you'd be sail through the windshield and land in a bed of hay somewhere uninjured.

So, overall, I'm not 100% happy about the complexity of new vehicles and the cost of maintaining the various systems, but I'm ok with ABS, traction control, lane departure in cars and ride modes.
 
I love his paragraph beginning with: Forum threads agonizing over which tires to use are second only to oil threads for their pointlessness.
So many of the 'tech' things we are talking about have become accepted norms in cars - cruise control, air bags, keyless entry/locking, abs, etc. There are more than a few guys in our local BMW club who would not consider driving a car without many of these features. Many of us ride our bikes in part to get away from these 'conveniences' since mobility on two wheels requires a bit more attention than on 4, yet several of my friends have said they would not go back to a keyed bike or one without ABS. At some point, the tech becomes a distraction and that point is different for all of us. I suspect @the Ferret would not like (or would not use) all the gadgets on @Mellow's RT. I rode with a friend in his Lincoln Navigator the other day...OMG what a barge. It's got a touch screen that my memory would say was 8 x 10" and reminded me of what we watched in drive in's. I'd refuse that car on that feature alone, yet that young driver (he is 86) was zipping along and using the screen like a secretary touch types.

I'd like to see this thread in oh say 30 years and see what we are accepting/rejecting on our bikes then.
 
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A lot of "modern" electronics fall into the classification of "just because you can,doesn't mean you should". When there are few ways to improve the mechanical functions, manufacturers resort to the "electronics" to entice people to upgrade to a newer model.
 
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